1. Field
Various vehicular systems may benefit from the appropriate use of detection and avoidance of potentially dangerous scenarios. For example, autonomous aircraft may benefit from systems and methods for weather detection and avoidance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Traditional aircraft were flown by pilots usually located in the cockpit of the aircraft. Today, an increasing number of aircraft are either unmanned or even autonomous. An unmanned aircraft can include an aircraft that has a remote human pilot or an autonomous aircraft. An autonomous aircraft can include an aircraft that is controlled without human intervention, such as by a computer remote from the aircraft or on board the aircraft. Some unmanned aircraft are referred to as drones.
One challenge for unmanned aircraft is dealing with weather and similar conditions. Traditional aircraft relied on a pilot evaluating weather information from a variety of instruments, as well as visual observations of the aircraft's environment. Such traditional methods of handling weather and similar conditions may not be suitable for many unmanned aircraft, and may not even be possible for certain autonomous aircraft.
While one approach is simply to plan the flights of unmanned aircraft based on advance knowledge of weather conditions, such that unmanned flights only occur in good weather conditions, this approach may have limitations. For example, such a restriction may significantly limit the operating schedule of an unmanned aircraft. Moreover, weather can change dynamically, particularly in the case of flights that last a significant amount of time, such as more than an hour.